Japan, U.S. reach agreement on American military presence in Okinawa

By Kenneth Chamberlain

April 27, 2012

Japan and the United States have reached a long-anticipated security agreement that will lead to a “reduction of the American military footprint in Okinawa,” Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said in a speech on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reports. Campbell didn’t provide many details of the agreement, which will be formally announced on Friday morning.

It’s unclear whether local officials in Okinawa, a southern Japanese island, will accept the terms of the agreement, Campbell said. Local opposition to the building of a new base on the island, part of a plan to reduce the overall American presence there, has stalled progress in implementing the plan.